Marilyn Lewis* is the CEO of Fun Factory Education Corp. (FFEC), a company founded in February 2007, with a mission devoted entirely to the betterment of child care in America. It is her longstanding position that, saying you stand for Family Values is great and ever so popular, however, Valuing the Family by your corporate and personal deeds are far more important and beneficial to the long-term welfare of our communities in general.

A combination of 25 years of child care experience and the most current evidenced based research bolsters FFEC’s commitment to its teaching methods—particularly in the area of emotional literacy with the use of its patent pending system. In addition, there’s an emphasis on making preschool [early childhood] education MORE hands-on and with an appropriate entertainment value.

The main objective of the Fun Factory Education Corp.’s "EnDUCATE"™ philosophy is to demonstrate that children require more than a repetitive delivery of academic materials. Ms. Lewis has stated for the record, "I have found that integrating early childhood materials with a generous dose of controlled and planned entertainment goes a long way in the ongoing effort to engage children for the entire scheduled period of learning."

It is important to understand that such a position (i.e., adding more entertainment to education) is one that is being hotly contested on a number of fronts, primarily due to the unanswered questions of "how much is too much" or "how much is just right."

Notwithstanding the giants of the entertainment industry’s attempts at educating whilst entertaining, the consensus of the academic community is still weighted towards the industries efforts being out of balance and in many cases harmful, particularly as it applies to advertising to children through entertainment venues.

Ms. Lewis takes a position somewhat closer to that of the entertainment industry, in that she believes the entertainment value has significant merit when applied appropriately. Her EnDUCATE™** teaching method accomplishes that balance, in her opinion, and she steadfastly defends her position against the cynics who are anti-entertainment simply because they disagree with their methods. She advocates: "Let's use what works and get rid of what hurts."

Ms. Lewis takes her EnDUCATE™ System even further by concentrating on the Emotional Literacy components sometimes neglected, and often underserved in early childhood education. Her research into this area has allowed her to apply for a Patent, through which she demonstrates how children can actually have fun and make great strides by discussing and understanding their emotions, particularly in the presence of their peers.

"Emotional life is a domain that, as surely as math or reading, can be handled with greater or lesser skill, and requires its unique set of competencies. And how adept a person is at those is crucial to understanding why one person thrives in life, whereas another, of equal intellect, dead ends: Emotional aptitude is a meta-ability, determining how well we can use whatever other skills we have, including raw intellect."

"It is time for those with an interest in school readiness to consider that a foundation in literacy must include the construct of "emotional literacy."

--Quotes from: Building Emotional Literacy: Groundwork to Early Learning. Source: Childhood Education - Publication Date: 01-JAN-08 - Author: Figueroa-Sanchez, Magali  (Meta-abilities are cognitive skills, self-knowledge, emotional resilience, and personal drive, which make a critical difference in coping with change and taking initiative.)

As a dedicated advocate and stanch supporter of Emotional Literacy at the Preschool level, one might say Ms. Lewis is on a mission or campaign, and yes, even a crusade to change how child care providers educate children in America. We must do more to develop our preschool child's emotional literacy, if we are to seriously make claim that our intent is to stop the spiral of "behavioral challenging cases" we are finding in grades starting as early as kindergarten. She's often reminded of a comment she heard Dr. Bill Cosby make sometime in 2007, which may or may not be a direct quote, but the essence remains..."Hurt people, Hurt people." It speaks volumes to the "Emotional Literacy" mission she has chosen to champion...we must reach our children at an earlier age [3-5 year olds] if we are to turn the tide. We must acknowledge the increased reports, a result of evidence based research, indicating a diminishment of "empathy" being exhibited by our children at younger and younger ages, and start to actually do something about it at every level.

CLICK HERE to Read Her Story...

View the major components of Fun Factory Education Corporation’s EnDUCATION System.

* Ms. Lewis holds a B.S. in Psychology, Child Care Center Director Credentials, CDA, A.P.P.L.E. Verifier and is a Child Care Center Owner since 1983; in addition she is an inventor, author and song writer.

** Definition: To instruct, to lead, to train, or to guide, and to engage attention agreeably, while amusing with that which makes the time pass pleasantly, yet productively—as to educate a child, by means of a carefully planned and thoughtful integration of entertainment into the learning process and curriculum. It should include all of the domains of child development (i.e., Physical Health, Cognitive, Social & Emotional, Approaches to Learning, Motor and Language).